Klarinet Archive - Posting 000345.txt from 2001/10
From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] A case of currency blues
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 01:46:44 -0400
Clark (and everyone else who has answered,)
I guess I need to qualify what I was asking
originally, and do a little clean up of my own
nebulous first question.
First, I agree about undercutting prices of your own
distributors being bad. In the whole currency
conversion process, the amount for the case IS very
similar to the retail price at distributors. A better
way of doing this would have been for Howard to have
sold me the cases through one of the retailers there
at Clarinet Fest. It would have also solved the moving
currency rate issues. I couldn't just order a case
through a distributor in a catalogue, though, as both
of my cases are custom combination cases, and would be
more difficult to get right through a distributor. We
had to measure things like my sop. sax, my flute, and
my oboe to get a case that would be big enough for the
soprano, and small enough for the flute while being
interchangeable with my clarinets. I liked having the
luxury of talking through this situation directly with
Howard, since we had to change the dimensions to
accommodate the combination.
Howard and I have talked a few times to get this
together. I IN NO WAY feel that he is a bad guy. He's
great! He is trying to help me in this situation, and
I suppose at some point in the future, maybe he might
get set up for different transaction accommodations. I
don't think he was pulling one over on me, nor do I
think he meant that for his distributors. If I had
asked for a stock case, maybe he would have directed
me to a distributor. I'm not sure, since I don't have
a point of reference. I know some other purchases I
made in Clarinet Fest from manufacturers were directed
through distributors.
I was looking for points of reference on the currency
issues I was facing, and since he was at Clarinet
Fest, I figured someone else here must have purchased
a case from him and had to go through the same hoops.
I should have been more clear that *I* am just
unfamiliar with the foreign currency practices outside
of credit card transactions.
The big question I still have is about the currency
exchange. If the exchange rate is 1.42 US dollars to 1
GBP on a given day, WHO USES THIS CONVERSION RATE? I
have yet to find a bank, nor an airport currency
exchange kiosk that ACTUALLY USES the rate that is
published for that day. The banks aren't even close!
1.6 is 13% higher than 1.42. That's a hell of a
service fee for just exchanging monies, wouldn't you
say? When the GBP was much stronger in relation to the
US dollar (or vice versa, US dollar weaker) the
published rate was 1.68-1.7, if I remember correctly.
The bank is using a rate close to a much harder
conversion time and is pocketing all the profits,
while just exchanging money.
Howard suggested Barclays Bank, with has offices here.
Does anyone else know a good way to exchange these
monies from a reasonable vendor, or know of a British
bank that might have a branch in the US?
Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions to
this point...
Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- CLARK FOBES <reedman@-----.com> wrote:
> Of course you are right about the list price and
> discounts, Roger. But I
> believe that the case that Kelly wanted sells for
> about $500 through the
> catalogues.
>
> My point is still valid, Weissman was offering a
> price lower than what the
> US retailers can sell it for after shipping ,
> duties, currency exchange and
> a very limited mark up. This is undercutting them
> and that is bad business
> practice as a manufacturer.
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